Statutory Liability Insurance
A ‘Statute’ is an Act of Government that governs you and your conduct in some way. So, what happens when you un-intentionally break the law?
If you have our Statutory Liability insurance and you unintentionally break the law, then this policy will pay the bills to defend you.
In many cases these legal costs are a lot higher than the actual fines, we all know how much lawyers can charge. The policy will even pick up some insurable fines and penalties that you may be issued with.
What are some Statutes that apply to Tradies then?
There are many statutes that will apply to your Trade, some are even trade specific, but all Trades will be liable for breaching the following :
- Health and Safety Act – As a Tradie you have all no doubt been versed on the new Health & Safety and your obligations under it. Whilst we cannot legally insure fines and penalties for this Act, the policy will defend you if you unintentionally breach it. We have all know of a Tradie who has been investigated as a result of someone being injured on a worksite.
- Fair Trade Act – Yes, this Act applies to Tradies as well, specifically what you say about your products or services. It’s there to protect your customers from misleading and deceptive conduct generally, unsubstantiated claims, false representations, unfair practices and unfair contract terms.
- Consumer Guarantees Act. As Tradies this Act provides an obligation that Tradies services will be performed with reasonable care and skill, fit for the particular purpose they were supplied for, completed within a reasonable time and for a reasonable price. Sorry Tradies, there is not contracting out of or getting around this one.
Whats the catch? You can’t insure me for just breaking the law?
This is true, the policy is not a “get out of jail free card” that you can call on when you have fallen on the wrong side of the law.
The key word in your policy description is ‘unintentional‘, if you knowingly and intentionally breach an Act of Government the policy will not cover you.
It is also worth bearing in mind that Statutory Liability Insurance won’t cover any work you have already completed if you did not have this cover already when you finished the job. If a past customer complains about a job that was finished before the policy was taken out and it relates to an insurable Act, you won’t be able to use the insurance to cover legal defense costs.
But for any claims that arise after the policy is bought, there’s every chance that you insurer will pay out.
> Click here to see the Policy Limits and Policy Wording